Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Religion (Catholic Religious Education)'

This mixed methods research investigated how young adult alumnae from a Catholic female high school perceive the impact of their high school service experience concerning their "beliefs" about the importance of service, current "engagement" in service, and their beliefs about and engagement with four Catholic Social Teaching principles (life and dignity, care for the poor, solidarity and common good, and rights and responsibilities) related to social justice.

This research draws data from young adult alumnae from a Catholic female single-sex high school in a metropolitan city of the United States. The data collection included a web-based survey (N=131), individual interview (n=9), and school documents review. Catholic theology of the human person, and Catholic social teaching principles served as the conceptual framework for data analysis.

The quantitative data revealed that Catholic high school service program experience positively impacts participants' "beliefs" about the importance of service (65%), and the importance of four Catholic social teaching principles (73%). The qualitative data corroborates with the quantitative findings. However, participants lacked translating their beliefs in to action with only 42% reporting as "engaged" in service. Although a majority of participants (60%) reported as engaged in activities related to four CST principles, in reality only 25% are significantly engaged in service in the past 12 months. Catholic educators are invited to examine their service pedagogy and address factors that contribute to low level of service engagement. Further research is suggested to identify factors that would raise the level of service engagement in alumnae's young adult life.

This study examined principals’ perceptions of faith-based schools in Southern California. A 6-item survey was distributed by hard copy to 217 Catholic principals affiliated with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and by e-mail to 218 Protestant school principals affiliated with the Association of Christian School International. The survey was completed by 148 principals (101 from Catholic schools and 47 from Protestant schools, 34% of population), suggesting that hand-delivered surveys yielded a higher return. However, the Protestant principals who responded exclusively online completed significantly more comprehensive written comments or transcripts to the survey.

Both groups of principals revealed high parent engagement in both types of schools and the selection by parents of a faith-based school was based upon personal values. However, highlights revealed that these administrators placed a high level of importance on open and consistent communication with parents and being visibly present on the campus. Principals were present at morning drop-off, visible on-site throughout the day, and at pick-up. In addition, the schools maintained a current website, frequent parent conferences by teachers and principals, and weekly or daily messages using various technological forms. Principals commented that they desired that every interaction with the school was positive and informative. Principals indicated that parent volunteer activity tended to be different in the two types of schools. Catholic school parents were expected to volunteer to work at the school, and participate in fund raising activities for the school. These parental expectations were vital to the school’s financial base, as nuns continue to be replaced by lay teachers. In addition, Catholic school parents were required to supervise completion of a child’s homework and support school rules, such as children wearing uniforms. Protestant school principals indicated that their parents were active in school-based activities such as sports, the performing arts, classroom support, as well as in school-wide activities such as open houses and fundraisers. Although the Catholic and Protestant schools provided opportunities for parents to participate in the school decision-making process, few principals reported all parent school boards or parents making the primary decisions beyond participation in the selection of the school principal.

The Catholic Diocese of South Carolina engaged in an extensive preparation program to ready the Catholic community for desegregation several years before the process occurred in 1963. After the Brown v. Board of Education decision, the diocese took steps to work for racial justice even though Catholics made up a small minority of the state’s population. In 1961, Bishop Paul J. Hallinan issued a Pastoral Letter that outlined the preparation process towards desegregation. The diocesan actions included integrating the first elementary school in South Carolina, challenging local politicians who were hostile to racial equality, and the development of a Syllabus on Racial Justice. While it took the diocese nine years to desegregate, the planning process allowed for an orderly transition. This work places the South Carolina Catholic desegregation story within the context of the struggle for and resistance to what C. Vann Woodward referred to as the Second Reconstruction.

The purpose of this quantitative study was to provide insight to the perspectives of leaders and individuals in authority within the Archdiocese of Los Angeles system of Catholic parochial schools regarding current models of governance, levels of authority, and decision-making processes. There is a lack of clearly-defined levels of decision-making authority from the bishops to the Archdiocesan Department of Catholic Schools down to the individual schools.

The pastors, principals, and Department of Catholic Schools personnel shared their perspectives of current governance structures and elements of three emerging alternative governance models. Data were analyzed through a factor analysis of the survey items to explore the strength of the three categories of the governance models represented by the three groups of questions. Next, the descriptive statistics of the specific questions relating to each of the three governance models and community voice were compiled. A Cronbach's alpha was calculated for each group of questions to measure internal consistency.

In order to explore relationships between perceptions among the three independent variable groups (pastors, principals, and Department of Catholic Schools personnel), a Chi-square analysis was run for each of the questions on an ordinal scale.

The study showed significant differences in participant responses between the three groups surveyed. However, there was agreement that community voice must be incorporated into governance, but only in a consultative manner. There was also agreement that a strong governing presence at the central office would be beneficial.

This study examined the relationship between school leaders’ self-reported levels of emotional intelligence and teacher perceptions of school climate in K–12 Catholic schools in Indiana. This study built upon the findings of a mixed-method study by Juma (2013) that was limited in scope and generalizability, and examined the relationship between a principal’s perceived emotional intelligence and teacher perceptions of school climate. The current study used a quantitative methodological approach and a larger sample size to enhance understanding of the relationship between school leaders’ perceptions of emotional intelligence and teacher perceptions of school climate. The Emotional Intelligence Quotient 2.0 (EQ-i 2.0) and the Organizational Climate Questionnaire (OCQ) were completed by 200 teachers and 30 school leaders in 30 K–12 Catholic schools in Indiana. This study did not find a significant relationship between a school leader’s perceived level of emotional intelligence and teacher’s perceived school climate. Prior research on these variables has been inconclusive. This study adds to the body of research examining the possible connection between a school leader’s emotional intelligence and school climate.

In order to effectively teach students how to critically consume media it is paramount for teachers to be media literate (Ian & Temur, 2012; Keller-Raber, 1995; Schmidt, 2012). Using Freirean critical literacy as a theoretical framework, this case study investigated how a 60-hour teacher training program in media literacy promoting Catholic Social Teaching and how undergoing this training has influenced teachers’ perceptions of media literacy, Catholic Social Teaching, and the link between the two. As the researcher, I performed participant-observation as a trainee in the program. Five teachers, alumni of the program, participated in this study: one middle school teacher, three high-school teachers, and one college professor, all of them taught at Christian private schools. I recorded how participants applied the Media Mindfulness—a faith based media literacy strategy—in their practice as a response to the Church’s call for Catholic teachers to engage in media education (Benedict XVI, 2008; John Paul II, 1987, 1990, 1992, 2005). Findings show how the Media Mindfulness method helped teachers integrate media literacy in their practice, promoting student empowerment and character education. A follow up action research at a Catholic high school where teachers are trained in Media Mindfulness is recommended to find out: a) how the training influenced teachers’ confidence in integrating media education into their practice? b) to what extent students’ assimilation of Catholic Social Teaching concepts resulted from the teacher training program? c) and how training teachers in the media mindfulness model influenced the school’s culture in addressing social justice issues?

As the continuous search for educational alternatives in Philadelphia intensifies, one only has to look at the current landscape, our surrounding communities, and fiscal pressures to appreciate the need for better alternatives to our public system. This study examines one such “alternative,” though long-standing education model, Philadelphia’s Catholic schools. Within these schools, perhaps we have leaders and a system that may be positioned to play an even greater role in providing a set of experiences that may impact the later life pathways of graduates, potentially predisposing them to community or civic service interests in their adult lives. I have completed an analysis of recollections of Catholic high school graduates across multiple graduation eras and collected insights from their narratives, to help illuminate those potential connection points. Further, unlike many previous longitudinal and correlational studies, in both Catholic and secular schools, I have conducted qualitative research to map earlier student experiences to current-day life practices and dispositions. Through surveys, one-on-one interviews and a focus group with graduates of Philadelphia’s area high schools, I am surfacing findings to determine if graduates are embracing certain values from their experiences and whether and how this may have helped shaped their civic and community interests years later.

Educational reforms have created a climate of accountability and high academic pressure that has resulted in a pushing down of the curriculum into early childhood education. Once a prominent pedagogical feature, play is disappearing from kindergarten. The following is a doctoral dissertation that studied administrator, teacher, and parent perceptions of play and its role within the kindergarten curriculum at a Catholic elementary school in the Los Angeles Archdiocese. Using a qualitative case study method, the study noted how play was utilized in transitional kindergarten and traditional kindergarten classrooms at the school site. Interviews, classroom observations, and document review of school publications contributed to the following findings: play was used as a reward for classroom management, adults did not commonly see the connection between play and learning, and academic achievement was valued over play. These findings were placed in the larger context of kindergarten, play, and curriculum by using a theoretical framework built on Early Child Education theories and Epstein’s (2011) Parental Involvement framework. This case study highlighted factors that influenced curriculum design and implementation in kindergarten. It contributes to the effort to inform parents, teachers, administrators, and policy makers of the importance of defending play within kindergarten in light of social pressures that favor a didactic kindergarten setting.

Educational leaders have many choices of organizational, curricular, and instructional interventions for academically underprepared high school freshmen. In the past decade, doubled instructional time in core subjects has become an increasingly popular intervention in large public school districts. Results so far have been mixed and there are no studies investigating the effects of this strategy in the private school sector. The purpose of this retrospective, pretest-posttest quasi-experiment with nonequivalent groups was to examine whether significant differences existed in the academic achievement gains of academically underprepared Catholic high school freshmen who received double-dosed mathematics and/or English instruction during ninth grade compared to equally underprepared peers who did not. The study used a dataset of 493 cases from an urban Catholic diocese in the San Francisco Bay Area. Academic achievement data consisted of archived mathematics and reading scores from two standardized, norm-referenced batteries with a published predictive validity metric of r = .83 (pretest: HSPT, posttest: PLAN). Independent t-test, ANCOVA, and ANOVA analyses were conducted to identify differences between group means and variances. Analyses revealed no statistically significant differences in posttest scores in mathematics or reading between the groups, challenging existing assumptions from previous effectiveness findings in the public school sector. The results indicate that, as a stand-alone intervention, doubled instructional time in the core subjects does not accelerate achievement gains for academically underprepared freshmen at urban Catholic high schools.

The purpose of this study was to explore personal and organizational values, their influence and alignment, in the ethical decision-making of Catholic school principals. Semi-structured interviews allowed the 12 participants to explore personal and school values, areas of congruence and dissonance, methods for resolving dissonance, the process of values alignment, and the influence of the Catholic school culture. Site observations and analyses of mission statements provided insight as to community values for each of the participating schools.

The review of the literature yielded a means by which to connect values of the principal with those of the school community. The individual level examined the formation of the school leader through personal values, professional preparation programs, and ongoing self-reflection. The communal level analyzed the nature of school culture, namely the Catholic school framework, and how community members perceived their organizational climate. The process of ethical decision-making through multiple paradigms formed the active connection relating individual and communal value sets.

The conceptual framework depicted the aforementioned values relationship. Values alignment and values congruence formed the theoretical framework, exploring how to bring personal and organizational values into alignment and the resulting congruence or dissonance between them. Although prevalent in the business sector, this study’s application of the theory in education suggested ramifications for decision-making, job satisfaction, and professional success.

Findings showed salient values across participant responses, observations, and documents and highlighted concepts of organizational fit, prayer as process of reflection, and individual versus communal goods. Further, values awareness and values negotiation were found to be layers in the dynamic process of alignment by which an appreciation of pre-existing stakeholder values could be brought to bear in discerning potential success or failure of change through ethical decision-making. The Catholic school culture, consisting of a seemingly unified values framework, provided a common sense of mission, vernacular, and expression through artifacts and décor. Recommendations were posited for “match” programs that could connect aspiring principals with schools of similar values. Delving more deeply into values awareness and negotiation by further examining principal motive and collecting broader stakeholder feedback could stimulate additional research.

School leaders and principals have an obligation to use every tool at their disposal to maximize student achievement. All students deserve the best use of data to inform the decision-making of those entrusted to deliver the finest education available to them. The purpose of this study was to ascertain the perceptions of principals in Los Angeles Archdiocesan high schools about the use of assessment data in their schools by finding how they were using assessment data to inform curricular and pedagogical decisions, and then determining what factors affect the use of assessment data to inform their curricular decision-making.

This study was a mixed-method investigation using a quantitative survey to find processes in Archdiocesan high schools that capture and utilize assessment data to inform decision-making, as well as to determine the principals’ perceptions of the benefits and challenges related to assessment data usage. The qualitative aspect of this study consisted of interviews of Archdiocesan high school principals meant to expand upon the findings of the survey. The findings of the study, viewed through the lens of a conceptual framework, suggest a breakdown in the use of data from the very beginning of the process. Standardized assessment data are the information used to drive curricular decisions while data from formative assessments and curriculum maps, are utilized less frequently. The study also found that, while principals feel that their teachers valued the use of data, there was room for growth in the protocols enlisted to analyze assessment data, and in the cultivation of a culture of collaboration and learning.